Committee moves to notify Saint Augustine’s Church of possible alcohol-license nonrenewal

The West Allis public safety committee recommended sending a notice of intent not to renew an alcohol license to Saint Augustine’s Church after a state audit flagged the church’s sellers permit as inactive.

Licensing staff told the committee that when the annual report to the state was uploaded, two permits were flagged as inactive. One, Bronze Pub and Eatery LLC, resolved the issue with the state; licensing staff confirmed Bronze’s permit is now active. The city placed Bronze “off the table.”

Saint Augustine’s Church, the other flagged account, had changed its entity name when it applied for renewal, which made the original seller’s-permit record inactive in the state’s system. Licensing staff said the state advised the church to contact the state directly to resolve the registration; the city had not received confirmation as of the meeting and recommended giving the church formal notice and an opportunity for a hearing.

The committee moved and seconded the actions: file Bronze’s notice and send a notice of intention not to renew to Saint Augustine’s Church, with an opportunity for hearing. The motion passed in committee and later was ratified by the council.

A committee member asked questions about the apparent use of the license at church events; licensing staff responded that some organizations maintain Class B licenses for occasional functions such as fish fries and other volunteer events. The staff update cited the relevant statutory authority governing seller’s permits in the state reporting process. The committee recorded no punitive intent at this stage—members said they were allowing the church the opportunity to correct the registration before formal nonrenewal proceedings would proceed.

The committee’s action directs staff to follow the state’s process for notifying licensees whose seller’s permits appear inactive and to provide the named entity the chance to correct the record or request a hearing.